Malmesbury, The Abbey c.1955

Photo ref: M13027

More about this scene

This pastoral scene includes the impressive Malmesbury Abbey on the skyline and abbey House, partly hidden behind the trees. Abbey House was built in the mid 16th century either by William Stumpe, who was a wealthy clothier in Malmesbury, or his eldest son, James. It was built on the remaining 13th-century vaulted undercroft of a monastic building which was part of the Benedictine abbey. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries the main building was demolished, and the abbey buildings were given to Sir Edward Baynton. Later William Stumpe, who was also a deputy for Sir Edward, purchased the abbey and the monastic buildings from the Crown. In the late 16th century, William Stumpe`s second son John upgraded the house, and further alterations took place in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1920s Harold Brakspear FSA undertook further improvements. A new wing at the east end was built for the owner of Abbey House, Captain E M Scott Mackirdy.